Former director general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Temisan Omatseye, has alleged that the indigenous fishing trawlers are being attacked at sea by International offshore shipping vessels.
Omatseye said the indigenous fishing trawlers are also prevented from carrying out their business at sea.
Omatseye stressed the need for security agencies to engage the coastal communities because they are the first point of intelligence.
According to him, the Deep Blue Project of the Federal government which seeks to protect the Nigerian maritime space, cannot be successful without intelligence from the local community,
The former NIMASA boss also called for the establishment of a fishing terminal where the trawlers can get bunkered and other requirements.
“One of the situations we have in fisheries right now is a situation whereby our trawlers who are going out for deep-sea trawling, are being attacked by International offshore shipping vessels because they don’t want them out there.
“This is also because trawlers are not provided bunkers and other requirements, so what they do is go out there with cash, in most cases, they are attacked, and their cash stolen. This is why Nigeria needs a fishing terminal where shipping trawlers can have their fuel, and whatever they need to go out there, do their trawling business and come back,” he said.
He chided the Marine Police for not doing their security jobs as provided by the constitution at sea, noting that they have powered up to three Nautical Miles but are unaware of.
“In the good old days, marine police were in the villages in Delta and Warri, they took care of the coastal area, but now we don’t see them anymore, the only ones we manage to see are at Awolowo road in Lagos and only God knows what they are doing there.
“There is a need to engage the coastal communities, they are the ones that would act as the first point of intelligence. The Deep Blue Project cannot be successful without intelligence from these people, you cannot cover the whole of 90,000 square kilometers, it is not humanly possible,” he stated.
